Be Exclusive
Deuteronomy 4:5-10, 15-19, 39-40
We were vacationing in Maine and had stopped in a small fishing village to tour a Baptist church which was being restored. A woman emerged from a Bible study and introduced herself. We did the same. On hearing that we were from Charleston, she said, “Now, we Baptists started down South and moved north, didn’t we?” I recounted for her how the entire congregation of the Baptist church at Kittery, only a few miles from where we were standing, had migrated South in 1696. She had forgotten, or perhaps had never been taught, her own church history.
The children of Israel were about to cross over into the Promised Land. Moses knew that there was great danger that they would not remember who they were or how God had brought them out of Egypt and through the desert. He was afraid that they would forget God and would bow down to the idols of their new neighbors. He was especially concerned that they would not teach the laws and mighty works of God to their children and grandchildren. He knew that it is shared stories that keep families and nations together. If they failed to heed his warnings, they would fall victim to their enemies, would be scattered and would no longer be a great nation.
Moses reminded them that he would not be permitted to enter the Promised Land; therefore, they must stay devoted to the one true God and carry out his commandments. They must not make idols of anything that God had created for the entire world to enjoy. They must remain steadfast and not let their new circumstances rob them of their heritage.
On Sept. 26, 2012, we will celebrate the 330th anniversary of the founding of the First Baptist Church of Charleston. We will recount the stories of Screven, Hart, Furman, Manly and Hamrick. We will tell the story of how a group of women defied the men and kept the church open. We will remember Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend and the Female Mite Society. We will sing the great hymns of the church. We will remember who we are and how God has brought us to this point. Most important of all, we will proclaim the Word.
The threat to genuine worship today is no less real than it was when Moses spoke. There are so many distractions and so many temptations. We are surrounded by the idols of our neighbors: money, fame, prestige, power, entertainment, and sports. We can become so wrapped up in the programs of the church that we forget their purpose. As the church allows itself to become more and more involved in secular politics, it faces the real danger of not only forgetting who it is, but whose it is. As Christians living in a pluralistic society, we are to remain committed to the God who has delivered us from bondage and watches over us still today.
Carnell– Lessons in the ETB series for the winter quarter are being written by Mitch Carnell, member of First Baptist Church, Charleston.